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On how the Patriots offense has changed in the past few weeks by using tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski more:
They used those guys earlier in the year as well. They’re both big weapons. They don’t have that big huge guy on the outside that would give you fits. Now, they just found a different way to get it done. A lot of times they’re running more vertical stems with their inside guys than maybe they used to.

On if their win over the Patriots last season provided them with a blue print for how to disrupt Tom Brady:
I’d sign up for that again. Things were different. They had some drops in that game. They have (Deion) Branch on the outside where they don’t have Randy Moss. Their offense has changed a little bit, so they’re running the ball down people’s throats.

On if they will use Antonio Cromartie or Darrelle Revis on one of the tight ends:
We’ll see. I’m not going to say that for sure. Can I tell that lie? If they flex them out wide, we’ll probably see that. I think it’s going to be this, we’re going to do what we do and they’re going to do what they do. There’s no reason to attack it any differently than that. We’re 9-2 for a reason and they’re 9-2 for a reason. I think that’s what’s going to be a great matchup. Are they going to do anything special? They’ve got the number one scoring offense in football, so I hope they do something different. I hope they change and they don’t score (smile).

On the Patriots having one of the worst defenses statistically:
I don’t know. With the way you guys report, I thought we had the worst defense (laughter). I don’t know where we’re ranked, but I know it’s embarrassing. I think we’re third. I know it’s not up to our standards, which is true. It’s not. The season (isn’t) over yet, either.

On if he views the Jets as an underdog against the Patriots:
I think in the general court of public opinion, absolutely we’re the underdogs. Do I view us as the underdogs? No. I think we’re going to win. I always think we’re going to win.

On Danny Woodhead having success with New England after he couldn’t with the Jets:
I don’t know if he couldn’t do it here, they just run their offense a little different than we do. He’s perfect for what they do. Kevin Faulk had that role for years and was so successful. Danny Woodhead is doing a great job doing that. Number one, he’s a heck of a football player, but the thing you’re most proud of is the type of kid he is. He is one heck of a person. He’s tougher than heck. I love the fact that he’s having success. I just wish him no success on Monday. He can have success this Monday, but not next Monday. I think he’s a great kid and a great talent and I’m happy for him.

On if he has talked to his team about what has been said about them and the Patriots:
I would never do that (smiling). You know what’s funny? We don’t need that for this game. This one, we know what’s at stake here. Whoever wins this game will be in first place by themselves on top of the division. If you need more motivation to get up than that, we don’t. I know they’re looking forward to it I’m sure and so we are, so it’s going to be just a heck of a football game.

On how he would describe his relationship with Bill Belichick:
I think it’s a respect thing. I really respect him.

On if he has a relationship with Belichick:
Yes. I do (because) he had my brother (as an assistant coach). My brother won two Super Bowl rings under him, so I met him then. Obviously, you pull for defensive head coaches anyway, at least I would. That’s human nature. I’ve just got a huge deal of respect for him. I know one thing, I would think he respects the fact that he’s going to get my best every time out and he knows I’m a football coach. I never got the job for my appearance or because I was the people’s choice. I got it because I was a football coach.

On if his brother, Rob, is a resource this week because Cleveland defeated New England:
I’m not going to say a word because it could be tampering, it could be this, it could be that. I don’t want to get into that. But, it absolutely is a yes (laughter). No question.

On if his brother is returning his calls again:
Right. He will be. We’ve always talked about how we escaped some games. I think they (Cleveland) escaped one yesterday (smiling). I watched that one and it was like killing me.

On if this is the Jets time:
We get to prove it. Will these two teams meet again? Probably. There is a good chance of it, so it might not be (just) two (games) this year. It’ll probably be another one in the playoffs. You never know. We certainly have to beat these guys.

On Brad Smith:
He looked faster with the one shoe than he did two shoes, so we’re going to look at that (smiling). Somebody please throw the stats out. 8,000. 4,000. He probably should have been in the first round maybe. He threw for 8,000 (yards) and ran for 4,000 (yards) in college. Last I looked, (the) Big 12 is pretty tough. He’s that kind of athlete and he’s got the brains. He’s smart. He’s tougher than heck. He covers kicks. He better go to the Pro Bowl this year as a special teams player.

On Santonio Holmes:
He can make one or two plays in the game that can be the difference of whether you win or lose. He makes (plays) to beat you. I saw that when I was at Baltimore up close and personal when he beat us three times in one year including beating us in the AFC Championship game. When Mike Tannenbaum made that trade (and asked), “Well. Are you all in?” Absolutely. The guy is a great football player and a great playmaker, but he’s a great teammate as well. I think that’s something that we really never knew. I never knew how good a teammate he was until he got here and he’s a great teammate. He’s a New York Jet and we’re proud to have him.

On if the team is built specifically to beat a team like New England:
We just tried to put a great team together, that’s for sure. We did try to specifically, I felt we needed to get another corner to match up with New England. We drafted Kyle Wilson also, and that was to try to beat New England and Indianapolis and whoever else got in our way. We tried to build our team to win a Super Bowl. We thought to win a Super Bowl, you have to beat New England, so we’ll see if it works, if that blue print works or not. We beat them once already.

On what makes Brady so good and why is he so hard to stop:
Everything. There is no weakness in Brady’s game. He’s poised. He’s competitive. He’s a leader, and by the way, he can make every throw. He’s great underneath. He’s smart. He knows where to throw the (ball). He’s gone 199 straight throws without throwing a pick. Just give him 200 throws without throwing a pick. He can throw the deep ball with touch, stands in there (and) faces the pressure. He’s great at quarterback sneak plays except once. He’s just a heck of a football player.

On the headlines being more about football recently than off-the-field issues:
We had a couple things as every team has. I’ve had one arrest since I’ve been here as the head coach. I do think we’re not perfect by any stretch and we’ve said that. Nobody in our locker room is perfect. We’ve got a lot of guys that are close, but nobody is perfect. It was a mistake, an unfortunate thing that happened. Did we learn from it? I think so. Like I said, we’ve got a lot of good guys. Braylon Edwards is a good man, a good teammate. We stand behind him and everybody (else).